A shopping cart of the type in widespread use has a wire or plastic basket which is mounted on a wheeled chassis and which has a handle mounted on the rear thereof. Commonly, such a cart has a child or infant seat located at the rear of the basket, just forward of the handle. When not in use as a seat for a child or infant, the child seat is often used to store grocery items or to hold beverage containers such as cups and the like. However, because its main function is to provide a seat for a child, the child seat has no device or apparatus to securely hold a cup or container. As a result, the cup or container may tip over, spilling its contents.
Recently, stores such as supermarkets and the like have been catering to their customers by creating a more comfortable shopping atmosphere. This, in turn, has prompted shopping cart manufacturers to design carts having features which focus on shopper comfort and convenience. One such feature is a cupholder for securely holding cups and other beverage containers. However, incorporating such design features must be done while keeping in perspective the direct and indirect cost impact of such features. One such indirect cost impact is that cupholders which extend beyond the confines of the carts may increase the storage space required for the carts when they are not in use.
More recently, shopping carts have been manufactured which have fixedly mounted beverage container holders mounted to a support fixture located between the rear wall of the basket adjacent the child seat and the handle. However, the location of the holder is fixed to the cart in close proximity to the child seat and can, in certain cart designs, interfere with nesting of the shopping carts.